Survival kit packaging



June 11, 1968 K. HENDRICKS ET AL 3,387,698

SURVIVAL KIT PACKAGING Filed May 16, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS[(LAAS HENDQ/C/(S BY JOHN T SOJA Glam 477'O2/VEY June 11, 1968 K.HENDRICKS ET Al- 3,387,698

SURVIVAL KIT PACKAGING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 16. 1966 INVENTORS ALAAS A/EA/DQ/CA S JOA/A 7: SOJA (AIM r. W

n-rrolzA/sy United States Patent 3,387,698 SURVIVAL KIT PACKAGING KlausHendricks, Granada Hills, and .iolm T. Soja,

Sherman Oaks, Califl, assignors to Rocket Jet Engineering Corporation,Glendale, Califi, a corporation of Delaware Filed May 15, 1956, Set. No.550,226 4 Claims. (Cl. 296-1) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A survival kitis described in the present specification, which is intended to be worn,for example, by airmen, by soldiers, explorers and the like. The kit isone having external compartments which are intended to contain signalflares and a flare gun, these items being readily and quicklyaccessible, Without the need to open the housing of the kit.

This invention relates in general to kit devices for carrying medicaland survival supplies, and more specif ically to a survival kit housingfor providing instant accessibility to emergency supplies without needto open the kit.

Survival of airmen who have been required to use their parachute oftenrequires almost instant signaling of location upon making a safeparachute landing while friendly aircraft are in the vicinity, and as arequisite for quick recovery before capture by enemy forces.

Furthermore, under the extreme stress of circumstances in manysituations, such as forced abandonment of aircraft during warconditions, the contents of a survival kit may be lost or scrambled indisarray if the airman is required to open the kit to obtain a signalflare.

It is an object of this invention to provide a survival kit housingpackage, having a multiplicity of uses for the housing package alone,without regard to the equipment contained in the housing package.

A further and more specific object of this invention is to provide asurvival kit housing, wherein location signal equipment is held encasedwithin capsule compartments formed in the surface of the kit andopenable without opening the kit.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to encapsulatesignaling equipment in surface recesses for quick access.

In accordance With these and other Objects which will become apparenthereinafter, the best mode contemplated for the present invention isdisclosed in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a kit embodying the principles of thisinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the opposite side of the kit;

FIGURE 3 is an illustration of the encapsulating surface recesses andtape in open condition, illustrating the construction and location ofparts;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the kit shell open to reveal survivalequipment stored therein;

FIGURE 5 illustrates the severance of an end of one of the shellmembers;

FIGURE 6 illustrates the conversion of the other shell member into acooking utensil;

FIGURE 7 illustrates one possible manner of attaching the kit to thebody of an airman;

FIGURE 8 shows the kit housed in a leg pocket of the flight suit; and

FIGURE 9 shows a further use for a flare gun handle included as part ofthe equipment stored in the kit.

In the drawings, a kit 10, embodying the features of this invention, isshown in perspective view, and in FIG- URE 7 it is shown attached to theupper leg of an airman.

The kit may be carried on several diflerent body locations; such as anunderarm position in a flying suit, or in a leg pocket thereof (as shownin FIGURE 8), or wherever it is convenient and comfortable for the user.

The illustrated embodiment is composed of mated shell members 12 and 1 4which co-act to define an openable container. More specifically, theshell 12 is of steel and has a bottom wall 16 and side walls 18. Thesewalls may be coated with Teflon, a trademark of the Du 'Pont Co., for atetrailuoroethylene fluorocarbon resin. The shell I14 is composed ofnonmetallic composition material and is also formed with a bottom wall20 and side walls 22. The shells have a slightly rounded form to fit thebody contour of the user, and, therefore, may be worn in many locations.

For the purposes of a survival kit, it is convenient to have the twoshells telescopable one into the other, rather than in registrationabutment. Thus, the kit is expandable in capacity according to varyingneeds.

When an airman is forced to parachute to safety, it is possible thatrescue craft can be sent to his aid within minutes of his landing if heis not literally in the midst of enemy forces. In order to accomplishthe most rapid recovery, the location of the downed airman must bepinpointed quickly. This need for rapid action is especially critical inwater landings. Under such circumstances, the airman has little time tounpack a container in order to obtain a flare gun and flare.

This invention provides a kit wherein the shell members have at leastone exterior surface recess for holding a signal device. In FIGURE 3,the shell "14 is shown to have a series of recesses, including a longrecess 24, shaped to hold a flare gun, and recesses 26 to hold flaresfor the gun. One common military type flare gun is indicated by thecharacter reference 23. A safety line 29 from the end of the gun passesthrough a hole in. the shell 14, located within the recess 24. The lineis knotted within the shell in order that the line Will retain the gunin case it is inadvertently dropped by the user. Thus, its loss in thesea or on jungle floors is prevented. Flares 30 are shown, one removedin position to enter the end of gun 28, and another in a storage recess.

Centrally of the bottom wall 20 is a shallow recess 32, wherein a mirror34 resides during storage. The central recess 32 is covered by apressure-sensitive closure sheet 36 which seals the mirror in its recessagainst moisture and dirt conditions. Two sheets 38 of similarpressure-sensitive material are adhered to side walls 22 and overlay therecesses 24 and 26 to encapsulate the gun and flares. Partition walls 39form end enclosures and division walls for the recesses and also act asbridging supports for the pressure-sensitive adhesive material.

The use of pressure-sensitive material for closing the exterior recessesis a purposeful selection. Very strong adhesion may be obtained inflexible sheet material, and this strong adhesion is used to helpprevent loss of parts during the stress conditions under which theapparatus is used. The material is preferably pre-cut so as to betearable for access to the individual items. Whenever the airman graspsthe strip and forces it loose, the gun 28 or the flares 30 adhere to theopened sheet of material and do not fall free of the kit. Hence, afterthe airman does open the encapsulated part, it remains attached to thekit and will not fall free until literally taken free for useintentionally.

.In order to enable the airman to open the closure formed by suchstrongly-adhesive material, non-adhesive end flap area 40 is providedalong the edge of each of the sheets 38, and a non-adhesive grip end 42on the mirror cover 36.

If the airman is not rescued immediately, be may find it necessary todig a protective shelter in the earth, or have need for a scoop devicefor other purposes. The shell 14 is made to serve a further purpose bythe provision of a series of perforations 44 which extend across thebottom and side walls adjacent one end of the kit. These perforationsand the strength of the material from which the shell 14 is made arecoordinated to enable the end of the shell to be broken off manually.The division of the end from the body of the shell 14 is best seen inFIGURE 5, wherein the severed end is shown in position adjacent theremainder portion.

This survival kit housing is further adapted to survival purposes by theprovision of shell 12 in metal and an adapter 46 secured to one endwall. The adapter 46 is threaded in order to receive the thread in theend of the gun 28. The gun threads are not illustrated in the drawings,but threads 48 on the end of one of the flares 30 illustrate the sizeand configuration of the threads which are used to join the flare to thegun 28. These threads 48 are of the same size and configuration of thethreads of the adapter 46, and, hence, the gun 28 is attachable to theadapter 46 as illustrated in FIGURE 6. The shell 12 is, therefore,convertible into a cooking device for food preparation and watersterilization. The Teflon coating, as is well known, facilitates cookingwithout sticking and obviates the need for butter or other fats.

The kit is made further useful by the provision of reflective pads 49 onthe internal surface, as seen in FIG- URES 4 and 5. In FIGURE 4, asuggested packing of material is shown. In order to hold the contentswithin the kit, but to make the kit quickly openable and the two shellmembers separable, belts 50 are attached at opposite ends of the shell14, and a snap fastener button 52 is provided on each belt to form aremovable grip with grip posts 54 on opposite ends of the shell 12.

A blade 60 may also be provided, as shown in FIG- 'URE 9, and this blademay include threads 61. The gun 28 may be threaded to the blade toconstitute a handle for the blade.

Whereas the present invention has been shown and described herein inwhat is conceived to be the best mode contemplated, it is recognizedthat departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the inventionwhich is, therefore, not to be limited to the details disclosed herein,but is to be aiforded the full scope of the invention as hereinafterclaimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A survival kit housing, comprising:

a pair of mated shell members each having a bottom wall and side wallsand defining an openable container;

a series of exterior surface recesses located at the junction of thebottom wall and a side wall of one said shell member, said recessesbeing divided by wall partitions; and

a pressure sensitive sheet releasably adhered to said side and bottomwall, totally enclosing and bridging said recesses, to protect thecontents of said recesses from dust and moisture,

said sheet being adhered to the contents of said recesses to seal andprotect the same against moisture and dirt condition, and being precutwith slits coinciding with said wall partitions so as to permitindividual access to the contents of a respective recess withoutaffecting the seal between said sheet and others of said recesses, suchaccess being eifectuated by tearing the sheet across the correspondingrecess, with the contents of such recess adhering to the torn portion ofthe sheet and being supported thereby.

2. A survival kit housing, as defined in claim 1, further characterizedin that:

said one pan bottom wall having a central shallow well recess;

a mirror proportioned to reside in said well recess, a security cordfastened to said mirror and to said bottom wall;

a sheet of pressure-sensitive tape bridging said well recess; and

said pressure-sensitive tape over the recesses having a non-adheringflap edge for finger grip.

3. A survival kit housing, comprising:

mated shell members defining an openable container;

said shell members having at least one exterior surface recess;

a pressure sensitive sheet adhered to said shell surface and bridgingover said recess, totally to enclose said recess and to protect thecontents thereof from dust and moisture, said recess and sheet jointlydefining a closed storage chamber on the kit exterior;

one said shell member being a pan having a bottom wall and side walls,said one shell member hav ng a perforated seam extending across saidbottom and side walls near one end for providing manual severability ofsaid one end to transform the remaining portion of said shell memberinto a scoop.

4. A survival kit housing, comprising:

mated shell members defining an openable container;

said shell members having at least one exterior surface recess;

a pressure sensitive sheet adhered to said shell surface and bridgingover said recess, totally to enclose said recess and to protect thecontents thereof from dust and moisture, said recess and sheet jointlydefining a closed storage chamber on the kit exterior;

one said shell member being a metal pan having a bottom wall and sidewall;

a flare gun in said exterior recess;

said gun having an elongated stem construction and a threaded end toreceive a flare; and

a handle adapter on said metal pan to receive said gun threaded end,whereby said shell and gun jointly convert into a cooking pan.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,913,806 6/1933 High 22038.5 X2,013,475 9/1935 Orton 206-47 2,343,272 3/1944 Armstrong 206-472,982,392 5/1961 Bossone 20616 FOREIGN PATENTS 541,225 11/ 1941 GreatBritain. 1,085,810 7/1960 Germany.

WILLIAM T. DIXSON, JR., Primary Examiner.

